Monkey Bars
by One More Time With Feeling
Summary: Six year old Cammie goes to the park with her babysitter only to meet a new and interesting second grader. As she learns the monkey bars, friendship is born. Naturally, there can't be friendship without the little bumps in the road. Join Cammie and her friends as they grow up. AU (Normal)
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, so another repost, but I like this one. What do you think, Hit or Miss?**

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Six year old little Cammie giggled in joy as she swung back and forth going higher and higher on the swing. The wind stung her eyes but she was too lost in the thrill to care. Jessica, her babysitter had taken her to the park and as soon as Cammie had the shiny swing set in her sights, she bolted skipping towards it gleefully. Jessica chuckled at the little girl's excitement, but was glad that she had found a way for Cammie to entertain herself. This way she would be able to talk to her boyfriend on the phone without any interruptions.

After a while Cammie got bored of the swings, but her short little legs couldn't reach the ground so she had no way of slowing down. After many attempts of trying to stop, she let out a little huff and just waited for the swing to slow down on its own. She hopped off and scanned the playground for something new and exciting to entertain her. Cammie immediately bounded towards the monkey bars, climbing up the ladder stretching her tiny little limbs out as far as she could so she could reach the bars.

After getting a firm grip on the first bar Cammie let her legs slip off the ladder that was supporting her. Instead of her legs dangling in front of her like she thought they would, her legs swung way out in front of her making her lose her grip. Cammie let out a little yelp as she fell and hit the ground with a thump.

Luckily, she had landed on her bottom, but the impact still made tears spring to her eyes. Cammie wiped her eyes sniffing trying to hold back tears not noticing the shadow that fell on her as a person stood above her.

"You stupid little girl, that's not how you do it," Cammie heard a voice above her say. Cammie looked up to see a boy standing above her. He looked to be a year or two older than Cammie, he had golden brown hair and the brightest green eyes Cammie had ever seen.

"What?" Cammie sniffed out quietly, she didn't like how he had called her stupid, but she was too embarrassed and scared to say anything about it. The boy looked annoyed but held out his hand for Cammie to grab.

Cammie was surprised, but she gratefully grabbed the hand and was hoisted up with a surprising amount of strength from the little boy. Now standing, Cammie dusted herself off and stared curiously at the boy. Why had he helped her up if he thought she was stupid?

"I said you are doing the monkey bars wrong. When you let your legs off the ladder you have to start swinging your arms so you don't come off balance when your legs swing forward," The boy explained sounding impatient.

Cammie cocked her head to side and crinkled her nose in confusion.

"I don't understand," she said in her cute little first grader voice.

The boy let out an exaggerated sigh before he started climbing the ladder positioning himself so that he was ready to swing across to the other side. "Fine, just watch me," The boy sighed out.

Letting his legs swing off, the boy swung expertly across the monkey bars all the way to the other side. Cammie watched in awe as he let go of the bars and landed gracefully on his feet.

"Are you going to stare at me all day or are you going to try it?" The boy asked, tapping his foot in an impatient manner with an annoyed expression on his face. Cammie smiled eagerly, she wanted to try again and do it just like the boy had. She was about to scramble up the ladder but her smile faltered and she hesitated when she thought of falling again.

The boy noticed."What is it? Why aren't you going?" He asked looking at Cammie with a raised eyebrow.

"What if I fall again?" Cammie questioned looking uncertain as she eyed the hard cement ground.

"Then I'll catch you" The boy replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Slowly, the smile returned to her face. "Oh, thank you!" Cammie beamed at the boy, but he just looked away muttering a quiet "Whatever" so that the little girl couldn't see the small blush that was temporarily staining his cheeks.

Cammie and the boy practiced the monkey bars for the next two hours until she was swinging across to the other side without falling on her butt. After that, Cammie proceeded to follow the boy around the park like a little puppy doing whatever he told her to do with a big smile on her face. He continued to act impatient and annoyed with the girl as they played together, but when she wasn't looking he would smile down at her with a little twinkle in his eyes.

"I also know how to skip bars while doing the monkey bars," The boy bragged trying to impress the small first grader.

"Really? That's amazing!" Cammie said gazing up at the boy with wide eyes. He knew he succeeded in impressing her when she looked at him with those big eyes that were currently filled with awe and amazement. The boy smirked down at the girl pleased by her reaction.

Soon enough Jessica was calling Cammie back saying they had to go home. Cammie turned and looked up at the boy, but not soon enough to see the disappointed look pass through his eyes. Cammie stared up at him with sad wide eyes.

"I don't want to go," Cammie complained looking up at the boy for him to tell her that she could stay.

"You have to, your babysitter is calling you," he said flatly, his eyes wandering over to where Jessica was waiting for Cammie.

"Will you be back here tomorrow?" she questioned hopefully eyeing him with her big doe eyes of hers.

The boy, unable to resist the look she was giving him nodded but displayed no emotion. Cammie turned to go but then turned around again to look at the boy.

"Wait, what's your name?" she asked, she had completely forgotten to ask that question earlier.

"Zach, Zach Goode" Zach said smirking at the little girl.

"Oh, I'm Cammie. I can't wait to see you tomorrow!" Cammie beamed, excitement leaking into her voice and before Zach could do anything Cammie launched herself at him and threw her short little arms around him engulfing him in a hug. At first he tensed thinking of throwing Cammie off of him. But then he brought his arms around the small girl and hugged her back, grinning a grin that she couldn't see.

A few moments later Zach gently but firmly unattached himself from the first grader and pushed her away gently.

"You should go," he mumbled out still embarrassed and surprised by the hug.

The little girl nodded eager to do what Zach said. "Bye Bye Zach, see you tomorrow!" Cammie sang out skipping back to her babysitter. Zach smirked and shook his head amused by the little girl's endless supply of energy.

-Monkey Bars-

Cammie bounced happily in her booster seat, Jessica had promised to take her to the park again and she couldn't wait to see Zach again. As soon as she was unbuckled from her booster seat she zoomed out of the car and to the park playground.

Cammie didn't know where Zach was so she climbed to the top of the main play structure to get a better view of the whole park. Cammie bit her lip in concentration as she scanned the park for her playmate. When she finally spotted him, she grinned widely and slid down the slide skipping towards the grass field where she saw Zach and three other kids his age kicking around a soccer ball.

When Cammie got closer she slowed down but kept the big smile on her face as she called out Zach's name.

"Zach! Zach!" Cammie screamed happily when she got the boy's the attention. The other three kids looked up to see a little first grade girl coming towards them. The three other kids looked at the little girl with irritated expressions on their faces, two of them were girls, the other a boy.

"Zach I'm here!" Cammie said out of breath with that huge smile of hers on her face.

"Zach what is she doing here?" The other boy asked looking displeased that the soccer game had been interrupted.

"I'm here to play with Zach," Cammie chirped happily.

"How old are you?" questioned one of the girls raising an eyebrow at Zach. Zach said nothing and made no move to reply or even acknowledge Cammie.

"Six and one quarter" Cammie announced proudly not noticing the disgusted looks she was getting from the other children.

"I am a second grader, no way I am going to be seen hanging out with some little first grader. Beat it kid," one of the girls with black hair snapped at Cammie.

"But-" Cammie started to say something but the other girl cut her off.

"Don't you get the message little girl? Leave" The other girl said glaring at Cammie.

Cammie looked at Zach for help, but his face was stony and he remained silent. Cammie felt her face heat up in embarrassment and she quickly turned around and bolted away hiding under the slide hearing snickering behind her as she ran the other way.

Cammie didn't understand, Zach had played with her yesterday, but today he wouldn't even look at her. Did Zach think that she wasn't good enough for her to play with him and his friends? Was it because the day before she hadn't known how to do the monkey bars? Did he think she was weak?

Cammie stood up and got out from under the slide and clenched her fists determined to show Zach that she wasn't as weak as he thought she was. Cammie knew exactly what she was going to do to prove her strength. Cammie strutted to the monkey bars with a determined look in her eyes.

Yesterday, Zach had told her how he could skip bars when he swung across. If they saw Cammie skipping bars while going across on the monkey bars then there was no way they wouldn't let her play with them, but for the most part she only wanted Zach to be impressed. He was the only one she really cared about.

Cammie climbed up the ladder and gripped the first bars with nervous sweaty palms, she was scared she would fall, but the desire to impress was stronger than her fear. Cammie let her feet slip off the ladder and started swinging across.

She made it past the first four, but as she was reaching for the sixth bar skipping the fifth her other hand slipped off the other bar and Cammie felt herself falling to the ground. Cammie landed on her side and she let out a little cry of pain curling herself into a little ball. Cammie closed her eyes tight when she heard laughter coming from the grass field, but it stopped abruptly.

Cammie wanted to look up to see why the snickering had stopped, but was too embarrassed to look up. A few moments later Cammie could feel someone standing over her, she looked up expecting to see Jessica, but was surprised when she saw Zach standing above her.

"You stupid little girl, don't you remember anything I taught you yesterday? I told you to go with the swing of your legs, you have to be firm with your grip," Zach muttered staring down at her, arms crossed, an annoyed expression plastered on his face.

Cammie got to her feet shakily unsure why Zach was over here. Was he here to laugh at her? Cammie looked Zach sniffing quietly not sure what to do next.

"Are you just going to stand there sniffling or are you going to try again?" Zach asked raising an eyebrow looking impatient.

"But-" Cammie started to say looking over at the other three kids who were continuing to play soccer not even glancing in their direction.

"Don't worry about them they won't bother us" Zach cut her off shaking his head.

"Are you going to play with me today?" Cammie asked quietly her voiced laced with uncertainty.

"Isn't that what I said yesterday?" Zach said looking at her like she was stupid.

That was all it took for the huge grin of hers to return to her face lighting up the space around her. Cammie didn't understand Zach, he kept confusing her with his weird second grader ways, but she didn't care as long she had her playmate back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so yes this is a multi chapter story (Obviously enough) I will try to update as often as I can, so probably once a week, twice if I'm feeling up to it. All the reviews and feedback has been wonderful and greatly appreciated, so thank you for that. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a few of you actually remember this story, so kudos to you. Please enjoy this chapter. xx**

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Cammie looked around the playground, she was looking for Zach, but he was nowhere to be found. She had no idea where he could be hiding, she had already checked under the slide, in the tunnel that you have to climb through to reach the slide, she even checked under the merry-go-round.

Cammie and Zach were playing hide and go seek and Cammie had been looking for Zach for what seemed like forever. Cammie stomped her little sneaker clad foot in a frustrated manner. Zach had told her that this game would be exciting and fun, but so far the only emotion she was feeling was frustration.

Maybe she wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe Zach was cheating? Cammie quickly dismissed the latter, Zach wasn't like that. Even if he came off a little rude sometimes, Cammie knew he couldn't possibly be a cheater. This was _Zach_, the same person who had helped her cross the monkey bars, the same Zach would had played with her even when his friends laughed at her.

Cammie stood up straighter with new found determination welling up inside of her. She _would_ find Zach! Cammie marched around the playground, analyzing every detail of each play structure with meticulous scrutiny. Cammie sighed and came to the conclusion that he wasn't on any of the play structures.

She quickly scanned the rest of the park, her eyes darting past the soccer field to the large mass of trees that surrounded a small path that runners and walkers alike constantly occupied. Cammie eyed the trees looking for something that might stand out.

She was pleased when she saw the shadow of a figure poking out from behind a smaller looking tree. There was obviously a person behind the tree, and Cammie had a feeling she knew who it was.

With surprising speed for such a small girl, Cammie dashed over to the tree, not checking who was behind it before she tackled the person to the ground.

"I found you!" Cammie announced happily staring down at the person below her.

Zach looked back up at her with an exasperated look. Cammie was still on top of him bouncing up and down all giggly and happy. Zach quickly pushed her off of him, dusting himself off. Some dirt had gotten into his shirt, and it made him squirm uncomfortably.

"What did you do that for?" Zach snapped airing out his shirt trying to get all the dirt out.

"What do you mean? I found you, that means I win!" Cammie gloated oblivious to the older boy's annoyance. Zach sighed, but made no move to explain to her why he was annoyed.

"Never mind," he muttered glancing around to see if anyone had seem his tumble.

"Whatever," Cammie chirped, "It's my turn to hide, close your eyes and no peeking!"

"Ok, you better hurry because I'm going to start counting," Zach warned teasingly ,no longer troubled by the dirt. Besides, he knew there was no way he could stay mad at her. Cammie's eyes widened before she scurried away desperately searching for a good hiding spot. Zach chuckled at her antics and closed his eyes and began counting.

Cammie eyed her surroundings frantically, trying to find somewhere decent to hide. Taking longer than she thought, Cammie could hear Zach's voice wafting over from the trees.

"three, two, one, ready or not here I come!"

Cammie panicked before slipping under the slide, curling herself up small, so he wouldn't be able to see her, she shut her eyes as well.

Zach came out from behind the tree opening his eyes, blinking as he adjusted to the lighting outside. Zach had a pretty good feeling Cammie hadn't gone far, he had only seen her at this particular playground since the first time they met, which was only two weeks ago. Cammie didn't know the playground like Zach did, who had been coming here for as long as he could remember.

It wasn't long before Zach spotted her small figure curled up under the slide closing her eyes tight. Zach chuckled quietly, she was such an odd girl. Deciding to make the situation more interesting, Zach sighed loudly and dramatically making sure Cammie could hear him, even if her back was facing away from him.

"Hmmm, I wonder where Cammie could be," Zach sighed out, over dramatically crossing his hands over his chest.

Cammie giggled aware, but unaffected by his overdramatic, mocking words. She kept her eyes closed and waited for him to point her out, but she was only met with silence. Cammie waited anxious and curious as to what was taking so long. Nothing but silence greeted her, Cammie began to wonder if Zach hadn't been making fun of her, and actually didn't know where she was. She was about to open her eyes and look around, but a voice interrupted her.

"Found you," Zach whispered quietly from his crouch behind Cammie. He had snuck behind her, not being able to resist the easy opportunity to scare his little first grade friend.

As expected, Cammie screamed, surprised by Zach's sudden closeness, she jumped up to her feet, eyes wide with fear. Luckily, she was still so small that her head didn't even come close to hitting the bottom of the slide. Zach laughed mercilessly enjoying the little girl's reaction in the fullest manner.

Cammie stared at Zach still trying to recover from her surprise. After she regained her wits, she proceeded to pout at Zach, pulling out her puppy dog look. This was their second week playing together, and in that time, Cammie had learned just how much she could get Zach to do with this expression.

But, unluckily for Cammie, Zach was too busy keeling over in hysterics to notice her pouty look. When he finally did look up, he had tears running down the side of his face.

"That wasn't funny," Whined Cammie, but she was smiling. She couldn't help it, she liked seeing Zach this happy. It wasn't too long ago that he still treated her like she was a piece of first grade trash. But not anymore, Cammie thought happily, now he treats me like his friend, his best friend.

"You should have seen the look on your face," gasped out Zach panting from lack of oxygen all the laughing had caused.

"Whatever, can we play a different game now?" Cammie asked trying to use the puppy dog look on him now that she had his full attention.

"Hmmm. I don't know, my dad is coming in twenty minutes to take us to my house," Zach said wiping his eyes his voice turning back to normal.

Cammie had forgotten about their sleepover tonight. They had been planning it since Monday, it was now Friday. She had been so excited, this would be her first time going over to Zach's house, and she couldn't wait. Cammie's parents had already taken all of Cammie's over night stuff to the Goode residence earlier in the day. They even let Cammie take over her baking equipment so she could bake Zach her famous chocolate cookies, much to Zach's excitement.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," mumbled Cammie embarrassed she had forgotten about such an important event.

"You _forgot_?" Zach asked incredulous.

"You haven't shut up about it all week, and now suddenly you forget? I'm actually offended," Zach said fake glaring at Cammie.

Cammie giggled, but tried to piece together what Zach had said. She didn't understand what the word _offended_ meant, but by the way Zach had said it must have been something bad, she mused. Also, he had used that weird tone of voice that he had called Sarcasm. Cammie didn't understand exactly what it was, but Zach seemed to use that voice a lot, and Zach said when he talked like that he didn't really mean it, he only meant it jokingly. But, it was hard for Cammie to tell sometimes, and whenever she asked Zach about it, he would only sigh and tell her she would understand when she was older.

"Please Zach, don't we have time for at least one game?" She tried him again silently begging him with her eyes.

"Ok, fine _one _game, but then we have to go," Zach muttered finally giving in to Cammie's irresistible puppy dog eyes.

"Yay!" Cammie cheered grinning wildly at Zach. Zach smiled back at her, but Cammie couldn't help but think it looked more like a smirk than a grin.

So, they then continued on with a short game of tag until Cammie thought she was going to collapse from exhaustion. Zach was in the same boat, but he was too proud to admit it, so he just stood there trying to hold in his pants for oxygen.

It wasn't too long afterwards that Mr. Good showed up, and Cammie and Zach piled up into his car excitedly bouncing up and down in their carseats.

**-Monkey Bars-**

Cammie and Zach arrived at Zach's house in record time. The two little ones raced out of the car and into the house with a chuckling Mr. Goode trailing behind them. The excitement was rolling off the two in waves. He hadn't seen Zach this excited since summer began.

The Goode's house was humble, not too flashy, but not tiny. It consisted of two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, dining room, and finally three bedrooms. An extra for guests.

"So Cammie, I hear you're quite the talented baker."

Cammie stopped and spun around to face Mr. Goode with a wide, but shy smile.

"I'm not that good, but my mommy says I make good chocolate chip cookies," Cammie mumbled embarrassed by the direct praise. She bit her lip and tilted her head to the side a bit, really bringing out the first grader in her.

"Well, lucky for you we have all the supplies here for you to make them. We'll see just how good you really are," Mr. Goode challenged with a kind, but teasing smile. Cammie grinned in response, all shyness forgotten, her eyes sparked with their usual determination.

"I want to make some cookies too!" Zach interrupted the fierce eye contact that was going on between the six year old and the full grown man. Zach didn't like feeling left out, especially if he was being excluded from Cammie.

"Well, of course," Cammie turned to face Zach, "We'll be a team." She grinned at him. Zach returned it and threw his fist in the air, getting pumped up. Although Zach had never made cookies, or baked at all for that matter, he was ready and willing to learn.

"Fine, but if we're a team, then we need a team name," Zach reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Cammie said as Zach smirked, he liked being right. "Well how about we'll be Team Cookie!"

"No way, that's stupid!" He argued shaking his head.

"Zach," Mr. Goode cut in giving Zach a warning glance. Zach blushed lightly, embarrassed at getting chastised in front of his younger friend.

"Sorry," He mumbled hanging his head a little. Cammie tried to hold in a giggle as she watched Zach, who strongly resembled a scolded puppy.

"Um, well, maybe Team... Zammie? Yeah! Team Zammie! Or we could be Team Cach, but I think Zammie sounds better," Cammie rattled on finally having an epiphany.

"Yeah, Zammie, I like it. Alright, we are now Team Zammie!" Zach declared proudly, his green eyes shining brightly.

"To the kitchen!" Cammie cried in excitement.

**-Monkey Bars-**

One hour and two batches of cookies later, Mr. Goode declared Cammie and Zach's cookies the best he had ever tasted in his life. To which Cammie and Zach had celebrated over with two cookies of their own and two glasses of milk. Alas, it was quickly reaching 9 o'clock, an hour after Cammie's normal bedtime, and she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

After cleaning up and putting on their pajamas, Cammie and Zach settled into their sleeping bags on the floor of Zach's room, which had become their designated sleeping area. The bed was large enough to fit both of their bodies, but they wanted the whole sleepover experience, so they had both decided to crash on the floor.

Mr. Goode said goodnight, tucked both the kids into their sleeping bags, and due to request, checked the closet to make sure no monsters were hiding in it. Cammie's request, of course, Zach had assured her that he cleared it out weekly so that monsters couldn't live there, but Cammie decided it would be better to be safe than sorry.

After dimming the lights to a low, Mr. Goode left the room and closed the door lightly, leaving it just a crack open. Cammie was comfortable, her body was warm and she felt so content that she almost thought she preferred the floor of Zach's bedroom to her own bed. His carpet after all was very thick and cushy. Just as she felt her self falling into lulled state, Zach's voice spoke up.

"Cammie, pssst, Cammie, Caaaammiee," Zach whispered loudly poking Cammie in the side.

"Whaaaa?" Cammie mumbled out not really aware of what was going on.

"Don't fall asleep!" Zach whisper-yelled.

"But, I'm tired," Cammie whined cutely, her hair falling over her face lazily.

"I want to tell scary stories though," Zach complained, silently willing Cammie to not fall asleep just yet.

"But I... Never mind. Yeah, scary stories are fun," Cammie mumbled, still in a relaxed state. So relaxed in fact, that she wasn't really sure what she was getting herself into.

"Great! Okay, I'll start."

Cammie merely nodded in response.

"Once upon a time there was a one eyed man..."

Zach then proceeded to tell Cammie the scariest story she had ever heard in her entire short life. By the end of it, she was clutching her blanket so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her wide blue eyes glittered with fear as Zach finished the story.

"...And if your not careful, you could be the next victim," Zach whispered the last line his eyes flashing as he took in Cammie's state of being. She was practically shaking, but Zach felt he had done good. He had reached the desired affect, and Cammie was a great listener, gasping when needed and being silent during the dramatic moments.

"Well, that was fun, but we really should go to bed," Zach yawned out for added effect before he fell back on his pillow and turned away from the scared little girl, a secret smile painted on his face.

"Go to bed? _Now_?" Cammie squeaked out, staring at Zach's turned away figure. She was now wide awake, the thought of trying to go to sleep after what she had just heard sounded impossible. She was met with no response, and she didn't know what to do. There was no way she was going to be able to fall asleep now...at least not by herself.

Cammie unzipped her sleeping bag and quickly crawled out over to Zach's.

"Zach, Zach, Zach!" Cammie whispered desperately. Zach groaned and turned over to frown at the frightened girl.

"What?"

"I can't sleep, scoot over."

"What? No, you have your own sleeping bag," Zach argued pointing lazily at Cammie's half open sleeping bag.

"You said that The One Eyed Man only goes after little girls, what if he gets me?!" Cammie cried, shaking Zach in effort to get him to comply.

"Don't be a scaredy cat, it's just a story," Zach replied, rolling his eyes slightly. He was sure he hadn't been like this when _he_ was in first grade.

"Zach, please," Cammie whimpered reaching out to grab his pajama shirt tightly in her small hands. Zach's eyes widened, she really _was_ scared. Zach sighed before unzipping his sleeping bag and scooting over to make room.

"Get in."

Cammie slammed herself into the sleeping bag, quickly zipping it closed and completely wrapped herself around Zach. Zach squirmed and tried to shove her off, embarrassed by her closeness, but it only made her cling tighter. Finally, he relaxed enough so that he could get into a comfortable position.

"Thanks," Cammie mumbled, her eyes shut tightly, her voice slightly muffled due to the fact that it was buried in Zach's small chest.

Zach didn't respond, but he smiled.

He liked Cammie, he liked the team name she had come up with, he liked the chocolate cookies that they made together, he liked the way the heat of her body radiated into him.

Zach liked his new friend a lot, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to share her.

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**Hope you guys liked it, feedback is greatly appreciated. **

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	3. Chapter 3

**I am aware it has been a while since my last update. I was off traveling the world during Spring Break and didn't have a chance to get an update in. Sorry. School has started up again, but I will do my best to update. An update a week can be expected. Sorry for the short length of this chapter, It was rather rushed, so you would know that I do in fact still inhabit this planet and plan on continuing this story. Sorry for the delay, Hope you enjoy. xx**

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As per usual, Cammie and Zach were bouncing up and down in their booster seats. Mr. Goode had promised to take them to the County Fair, and they made sure he stuck to his promise. He had been seeing quite a bit of Cammie lately and had come to the conclusion that she was a sweet girl. She could be good for him, maybe he would tone down on his bossiness. Although, from what he had observed, being in Cammie's presence only raised his level of immaturity. He became a bit of a show off, but Cammie, the sweet little girl that she was, loved to see what he would come up with next.

It worried him slightly that he wasn't seeing his other friends as much anymore. He hadn't seen or heard about Grant, Bex, or Macey at all since Cammie had entered Zach's life. But, he figured that as soon as school started things would change. Cammie was after all a year below Zach. The end of the summer would be a sad time, but luckily they were attending the same school, so things wouldn't be too bad.

Mr. Goode was more than happy to take Zach and Cammie to the Fair. From what he understood, Cammie's parents had a tight work schedule that often left her with her trusty babysitter, Jessica. He suspected that was why Cammie was so attached Zach, despite his flaws. Cammie had even taken quite a liking to Mr. Goode himself. While he insisted she call him by his first name, James, She refused to remove the Mr. title at the front, making him Mr. James. He didn't mind really, it was cute. Besides, he had started calling her Camster, a nickname of his own creation.

Excited shouts from behind him broke Mr. Goode out of his reverie.

"We're here!" Cammie cheered, excitement rolling off of her in waves. Zach was trying to remain calm and cool, but he too was lightly bouncing in his seat, an award winning smile attached to his face.

They were out of the parking lot in a matter of minutes and into the excited crowd of people milling about. Mr. Goode let the kids walk a little bit ahead of him, but not too much. It wouldn't exactly be the best thing if he lost his kid. Besides, the people that came to these kinds of things weren't always the... cleanest.

"Oh! Oh! Cammie look at that! Look, Cammie, look!" Zach burst out grabbing ahold of the girl's small wrist dragging her forward pointing at a particularly scary looking ride. Cammie gulped as she stared at the ride he pointed to, the _Zipper_.

It contained round cage spheres that spun upside down wildly as the whole contraption circled slowly like a ferris wheel. The spheres contained giggling and screaming children and adults, and occasionally a crying child.

Cammie visibly paled and looked around nervously, trying to find a less intimidating ride.

"Maybe we should start out with something else," Cammie suggested nervously, tugging her wrist away from Zach's tight grip.

"Look! What about the spinning tea cups? Or we could go in the Mirror Maze," Cammie exclaimed trying to gain Zach's attention, but his eyes were zeroed in on one thing and one thing only.

"No way, we're doing the Zipper, the other stuff is for babies."

Mr. Goode made no comment as he followed and excited Zach and a reluctant Cammie to the _Zipper_. The line was mildly long so they had wait a couple minutes before they could get on. Just enough time for butterflies to plant themselves in Cammie's stomach.

She hadn't gone to the Fair since she was four and at that age, she wasn't allowed to go on any of the bigger rides. She was terrified, but Zach was determined to get both of them on that ride. She didn't have the heart to tell him she didn't want to go, it would only annoy him. Besides, it was too early in the day to have to deal with an unhappy Zach.

Soon enough, it was their time to board and luckily for Zach, they were tall enough to ride. Both of them were. Meaning Cammie. Cammie would have to ride the _Zipper_. She let out a shaky breath before clambering on the platform and into the sphere cage.

A couples minutes went by as they checked to make sure they were strapped in and everything was secure, before they closed the door to the cage and sent them off.

They went up slowly, so far everything seemed normal and Cammie almost let out a sigh of relief. Almost. Their cage started to spin slowly catching Cammie off guard as she let out a little squeak. It spun them quicker, until they were spinning non-stop at a constant pace upside down and around again.

Cammie had never been so frightened in her short life.

She immediately decided she didn't like being upside down. Humans weren't made to be upside down, so why would she ever want to be upside down? She clung tightly to the bar holding her to her seat and opened her mouth in a silent scream. She had long lost her stomach and all her fear was stuck in her throat.

Zach on the other hand was yelling wildly, giggles erupting from him like a volcano. He threw his hands up in the air, basking in the the thrill of the rush. He was beyond dizzy, but was having too much fun to care. He glanced over at Cammie to see how she liked it but her mouth was open wide, eyes bright and posture tense.

Zach came to the conclusion that she obviously loved it too and went back to giggling.

The ride soon ended and the two little kids walked off the ride with large eyes. Cammie had never felt so scared in her life, whilst Zach looked like he had just found God.

"That was awesome! Cammie, let's do it again!" Zach screeched, his arms flailing around wildly, still trying to gain his balance. Mr. Goode chuckled at his son's excitement but sent a worried glance in Cammie's direction. He could easily read the fear on the young girl's face. He took pity on her and cut in, stopping Zach from getting back in line.

"How about we try a different ride?"

"What? No way! That was awesome!"

Cammie stayed silent not wanting to ruin Zach's fun.

"We don't want to over do it, otherwise it won't be fun anymore," Mr. Goode reasoned trying to get Zach away from the ride.

"But Dad, I wanna ride it again," Zach whined huffing loudly.

"We'll maybe we can come back later," He suggested, his voice firm and tone final, sending a warning glance in Zach's direction. Zach sighed and mumbled a quiet 'fine'.

"What about you Camster, which ride has caught your fancy?"

Cammie stayed silent, her voice still stuck in her throat and merely shrugged. Before Mr. Goode could reply, Zach cut in with his own idea.

"Oh! Let's ride the _Scream Rider 2000_!" Zach pitched already headed in the direction of the ride where the screams were the loudest.

Cammie gulped but followed loyally behind him with a sighing Mr. Goode behind her.

**_-_**** Monkey Bars -**

Five rides later, Cammie was shaking so badly Mr. Goode had to stop Zach from rushing off to the next stomach dropping ride and sit them down for some lunch. Well, that's what he told Zach. Cammie looked immensely relieved at the mention of a break and didn't hesitate to rush towards one of the available picnic tables.

Mr. Goode bought them Mexican food, burritos, his favorite food. Cammie didn't mind, she ate particularly slow, not anxious to get back on the scary rides. Zach, still oblivious to Cammie obvious discomfort, ate as fast as he could, eager to get back to what he saw as fun.

"We should go on the Ferris Wheel next," Cammie suggested softly, her voice still partially stuck in her throat. Zach turned and gave her an eye roll.

"We can't go on the Ferris Wheel, that's a baby ride!"

Cammie sighed, but didn't argue. She didn't mind being a baby, as far she knew babies weren't made to ride scary rides. Being a baby never seemed so appealing.

"Zach, let's go on something slower, you need to wait for your food to digest before going on any fast rides anyhow. I don't want you throwing up," Mr. Goode cut in, saving Cammie from more torture.

"That's not fair! I'm not riding a baby ride!" Zach protested defiantly.

"Zach, please," Cammie's voice was soft and shy, but the fear was evident in her voice. Zach spun around to face Cammie ready to complain and or argue, but when he saw the look on her face he suddenly became very aware of just how scared she was. She was practically shaking, and her eyes were wider and brighter than he had ever seen them.

The fight in Zach was quickly deflated at the sight of his frightened friend.

"I...uh... Well I guess the Ferris Wheel isn't all that bad," He mumbled offering Cammie what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. Cammie sent him a small, grateful one in return, relief clear on her face.

"I hear the view's really pretty," Cammie pitched the fear slowly fading away. Zach smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be uh... pretty."

Cammie nodded and the three of them made their way to the Ferris Wheel line.

Mr. Goode followed behind them staring at Zach in wonder, he had never seen this side of his son before, so quickly calmed. The fire in his eyes had been completely dissolved at the sight of his smaller friend. Maybe he'd let her stick around after all.

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** I am aware this chapter is rather short, but I hope you enjoyed it. As always, you can hassle me on Twitter for updates Holy_Google. What do you guys think about this chapter? Hit or Miss? Thanks for reading. xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Not proud of this one. Sorry this was late. Enjoy. xx**

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"It's a beach."

"No, it's a lake."

"Nuh-uh, it's a beach."

"Lake."

"Beach."

"Lake!"

"Zach, It's not a lake!"

Zach glared at Cammie who had her arms placed on her hips, a stance she had picked up from her mom when her parents were arguing.

"Yes it is. Look, it ends! The ocean doesn't end! It just keeps going until you can't see it anymore. You can see all of the lake!" Zach argued waving his arms around pointing at the large body of water in front of the two. Water lapped at their feet calmly, the sun reflecting off the clear water.

"Yeah, but there's sand! Beaches have sand!" Cammie argued back, willing Zach to understand and admit defeat.

"Just because there's sand doesn't mean it's a beach. There's sand at the playground, and the playground doesn't have a beach," Zach shot out crossing his arms over his bare chest. If it had been up to him, they would already be in the water, splashing each other and having a good time. But _someone_ had to bring up the topic of what type of body of water this was.

"That's different," Cammie complained, not getting his point.

"Yeah, and so is this!"

Cammie stared at Zach long and hard, her chin jutted out stubbornly, biting her lip from saying something she would regret. They had studied this in Kindergarten when they practiced coloring in the globe with crayons and naming all the oceans. Her teacher had told her that all beaches had sand, although perhaps it wasn't all beaches. She couldn't really remember, Kindergarten had been a long time ago, but she refused to be proven wrong. This place had sand, so it _had_ to be a beach. She didn't understand why Zach couldn't see it.

"Fine, let's go ask our parents," Zach said angrily, stomping in the other direction with an annoyed but uncertain Cammie trailing behind him.

Zach's Dad and Cammie's parents who had been in the middle of a conversation looked up to see what the interruption was.

"Mommy, tell Zach that we are at the beach," Cammie mumbled, losing a bit of her spark now that they were in the presence of adults.

"Nuh-uh, Dad, Dad! Tell _Cammie_ that we are at a lake," Zach shot in, before Mrs. Morgan could get her response in.

The adults shared an amused look before they turned their attention back to the two kids.

"Sorry Camster, but Zach's right, this is a lake," Mr. Goode said, a pitying look in his eyes.

Cammie's mouth dropped open. Her teacher had lied to her?

"I told you!" Zach gloated pointing a vicious finger at Cammie as he jumped around, bouncing in victory.

"Now, Now Zach, Cammie is after all a year younger than you, take it easy," Mr. Goode chided.

"_But _I was right!" He cheered, an award-winning smile plastered on his face.

Cammie felt her face heat up and turn a bright shade of red.

"Are you sure, Mr. James?" Cammie squeaked out, embarrassment leaking into her voice.

"'Fraid so," Mr. Goode replied solemnly.

Cammie hung her head before turning back to look at the great body of water that was apparently a lake. Not a beach.

Zach laughed again, bathing in the glory of being right, before he darted to the water, anxious to dive in.

"Race you!" He shouted gleefully.

Cammie trudged behind him slowly, still sulking.

The adults laughed at their children, happy to see that they were getting along. School was starting soon, so they had decided to rent a cabin by a lake so the kids could have one last hurrah before they had to start school. Cammie was beyond excited for school to start, she would be a big kid! First grade, officially marking her journey into grade school. Although, sadly, with all the excitement came a great amount of nerves. Lots and lots of nerves and worries.

Her family had moved at the end of Cammie's Kindergarten year, so she knew none of the children in her neighborhood or in her general area. When she met Zach things started to look up. Cammie's parents didn't have to rely on Jessica as much anymore, and Cammie was starting to make friends.

The two kids stumbled in the water, shrieking as the cold liquid splashed against their bodies. Cammie flailed her arms about, giggling wildly trying to get used to the temperature of the water. Of course, all the flailing ended with large amounts of water being splashed all over Zach. Zach then went on to initiate a water fight, that ended in laughter and tired arms.

Three hours later, settled in the room they were sharing, Cammie decided to confess something she had been holding back from Zach for a while. They had a TV in their room and they were both settled on the floor, two massive blankets covering the two of them, keeping them warm.

They were watching SpongeBob and it was at a commercial break, a perfect time to tell Zach what was on her mind. But, as she stared at her new friend a feeling of uncertainty and sadness engulfed, making her chest tighten up painfully. The fear that had been tugging at her heart for the past week suddenly seemed unavoidable.

"Hey, Zach," Cammie mumbled quietly, getting herself up into a sitting position. Zach turned around his eyes flickering back to the television set before turning his full attention to Cammie.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you...erhm...do you...I.. Uh, nevermind," Cammie mumbled suddenly embarrassed by Zach's overwhelming stare. Zach furrowed his eyebrows and stared hard at Cammie, analyzing.

"That's not fair, you can't do that. Now, you have to tell me," Zach grumbled.

"Fine, it's just, do you think that they'll like me?" Cammie asked meekly. Zach merely blinked.

"Who?"

"The people in first grade," Cammie explained nervously.

"What, why wouldn't they like you?"

"Well, what if they think I talk funny? Or I smell weird! What if they don't like the color of my hair? What if they find out I can't do a cart wheel? What if they find out-" Zach cut her off with a small flick to her forehead.

"Ow! What was that for?" Cammie asked angrily, rubbing furiously at the developing red mark on her forehead.

"Would you shut up already, of course they'll like you. Why are you even worrying about something so stupid?" Zach asked.

"It's not stupid!" Cammie argued huffing.

Zach only rolled his eyes at her, before his eyes flickered back to the TV, where the commercials were still running.

"Zach," Cammie complained, "I'm being serious!"

Zach let out an annoyed sigh before looking back at the soon to be first grader.

"I was being serious too. Besides, _I'm_ your friend," Zach said, and as far as he was concerned, he was enough.

"Yeah, but you're going to be in second grade, which means I won't get to see you during class."

"Oh."

Zach hadn't thought about it before. He had assumed that because he was going to school with Cammie, he would see her most of the time. It hadn't occurred to him that he might only get to see her during recess. Which meant Cammie would be all alone most of the school day. Oh, he most definitely had not thought of that.

"I won't get to see you anymore," Cammie mumbled sadly.

"That's not true..." Zach trailed off trying to think of something that would cheer her up, but the more he thought of it for himself, the more truthful it seemed.

"I'll miss you, and we will never see each other again," Cammie sniffed, tears starting to prick the corners of her eyes.

"Don't be silly," Zach mumbled, but he could feel tears starting to come up as well.

"We'll see each other at the playground," Zach reasoned.

"When?" Cammie questioned, trying not to let her tears fall, but the sight of Zach getting sniffily was making it hard.

"Uh, Uh, Uh..." Zach trailed off before the answer hit him straight in the face.

"You're right Cammie! I'm sorry. We're never going to see each other again!" Zach wailed, tears now streaming down his face at an alarming rate.

Cammie quickly joined him, until they were clinging onto each other, sobbing like the other had died.

They were both in some dire need of sleep, the activities of the day had worn them out, and the strain of it all had broken down on them. They would be fine in the morning, but at the moment, nothing seemed worse than that moment.

Upon hearing the loud wailing, Mrs. Morgan rushed up the stairs, praying that neither of the two were injured.

She slammed the door open to find the two children sobbing and hugging each other.

"What happened?"

"I don't wanna go to school!" Cammie wailed holding onto Zach tighter.

Mrs. Morgan let out a small sigh of relief when she realized that neither of them were injured. She shook her head, holding back a laugh as she viewed the two little ones.

"Oh dear."

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**Questions, comments, concerns, then contact me here:**

** /Holy_Google**

* * *

**(On a side note, **

**I had this one anonymous review that was really so sweet, but they were so worried that they were offending me by their phrasing and I must say, it was adorable. You know who you are, you were so sweet. No, you did not offend me, although you did succeed in making me laugh. : ) Again, for answers to questions contact me through the link above.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I've been putting this off but I must answer the question everyone has been asking. Yes. Yes, I will be continuing this story into their lives as teenagers. I will be doing some time skips and such, but at my own pace, so just sit tight and enjoy the ride. Also, check out my one shot, called Colors of the Heart. I have lots more to say, but I don't want to ramble. So, please review and enjoy. xx**

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Cammie was silent on the drive to school. She could feel the nerves chipping away at her and the butterflies swimming in her stomach. Although, they felt more like wasps. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan sat in the front of the car talking enthusiastically to Cammie, hoping to get her out of her nervous state.

Of course they knew that not all nervous energy was bad energy, but it worried them to see her this quiet. Briefly they wondered if it would've been a better idea to carpool with Zach, as Mr. Goode had suggested. The two had already missed so much of Cammie's short life, busy with work and other tedious tasks, they felt they couldn't miss out on Cammie's first day of first grade.

They arrived shortly. Cammie slowly unbuckled herself from her booster seat with trembling hands. She easily hopped out of the car, turning about to grab her paper sack packed lunch and her Toy Story themed backpack.

"We're here! Aren't you excited to see the classroom?" Mrs. Morgan asked cheerfully.

Cammie shook her head glumly and slipped her hand into her father's, clutching ittightly.

"Why not, Peanut? It'll be fun, I promise," Mr. Morgan cut in giving Cammie a reassuring smile. Cammie sighed, but smiled back none the less.

Cammie felt her stomach tighten even more as they entered the large brick building. As soon as they walked in, they were assaulted by loud noises and excited children. Loud laughing, wailing, and shouting could be heard from all angles. The building had four classrooms total and what appeared to be a main lobby area containing countless coat racks and two bathrooms.

Cammie's parents steered their child into the first classroom on the left labeled 'Mrs. Buckingham, First Grade'. They entered the room only to be greeted by a short older lady, who had her hair in a tight bun a neat tweed dress draped over her small body.

"Hi, welcome to first grade. What's your name, Sweetie?" Mrs. Buckingham asked kindly crouching down so she was closer to Cammie's height.

"Cammie," Cammie replied shyly, clutching her father's hand tighter in her own.

"Nice to meet you Cammie, my name's Mrs. Buckingham, I look forward to having you in my class," Mrs. Buckingham said with enthusiasm, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

"Thank you," Cammie mumbled back in reply, eager to leave the conversation, embarrassed by the direct attention she was receiving.

"Cammie's really excited, just a bit nervous," Mrs. Morgan cut in giving the teacher an almost apologetic look.

Mrs. Buckingham merely chuckled, "They usually are."

"Why don't you go find your seat and get settled," Mrs. Buckingham suggested, directing her attention back to Cammie. Cammie nodded in response giving the teacher a small smile, before she hurried off in the opposite direction searching for her name tag, leaving the adults to converse amongst themselves.

Finally, she found the tag labeled, 'Cameron Morgan'. She began taking out all her supplies, including; glue sticks, crayons, markers, erasers, pencils, and everything else a young first grader might need. Next, she took her backpack and jacket and stowed them away in the lobby area under the coat rack, cubby complex labeled, 'Morgan.'

Cammie looked across the way to see into the other classroom opposite from hers. It was labeled 'Mrs. Evans, Second Grade'. From her spot she could see clearly all the desks and children milling about. She spotted the three kids from the park huddled towards the back of the classroom laughing together. She gulped as she remembered her last encounter with them.

She glanced around some more, wondering if Zach was in the same building as her, and sure enough she could see just hiding behind the boy from field was Zach's familiar brown mop of hair. Cammie let out a small breath when she realized Zach would be in the building as her. It was only a little comfort, but it was comfort enough.

Soon enough, Cammie had to say goodbye to her parents and class had to begin. Cammie quickly got settled in her seat, which was located towards the back of the room so she had a perfect view of Zach's class from her seat point. Unfortunately, it seemed Zach wasn't seated in the back, because she couldn't get a clear view of him, without craning her small neck as far back as it would go, which of course attracted too much attention from her peers, which ultimately led to a very red faced Cammie.

The class began with Mrs. Buckingham welcoming the small children to first grade and going over a list of class rules. Next, it was time to take roll. They were a class of 20, so it didn't take very long.

"Jonas Anderson?"

"Here," a small boy with blonde hair and a pair of spectacles far too large for his face replied.

"Courtney Bauer?"

"Here."

"Elizabeth Sutton?"

"Here."

The roll taking continued on, until the teacher got to someone that caught Cammie's eye in particular.

"Preston Winters?"

"I'm here!" squeaked out a small, scrawny looking boy, his hand raised high in the air. The class erupted in laughter and Preston's face turned a dark shade of red. Cammie giggled into her palm, but felt empathy for the boy. He was like her, easily embarrassed. His hand immediately was thrown down, but not before she noticed the Spiderman watch that hung loosely from it. Her eyes widened, impressed. Her mommy wouldn't let her watch Spiderman until she was in second grade.

The boy's attire included two long white tube socks, pulled up just below his knees, a button up plaid shirt that looked a size too big, a pair of red shorts, and white lace up tennis shoes. Cammie giggled again, she couldn't help but think he looked funny.

Preston, who was seated close enough to hear her giggles turned around and shot Cammie an embarrassed glare. Cammie only replied with a playful smile, to which he looked even more embarrassed by.

Cammie liked that his faced turned red, she knew for certain that hers would've done the same, so having another person understand what if felt like was nice. She could relate. Zach never got embarrassed, or at least as far as she knew, he didn't. He was always so collected and mature, Cammie briefly wondered if she would ever be as much of an adult as he was. He was also really smart, his word choice so much more advanced than hers.

"Cameron Morgan."

Cammie's head shot up, and she was shaken out of her dazed state by the sound of her name.

"What?"

The rest of class giggled at Cammie's delayed response, and the teacher shot her a kind but stern look. Cammie immediately felt her face heat up, just as Preston's had not too long ago. Cammie slouched down in her seat, beyond embarrassed. The Preston kid turned around and looked at Cammie's hunched figure, before he laughed again. Cammie glared in response, but noted that his laugh was playful, not mean spirited. Grudgingly, Cammie smiled back, she couldn't help but think that maybe first grade wouldn't be all that bad.

**-Monkey Bars-**

After writing, it was time for lunch. Luckily for Cammie, the first second and third graders got to sit with each other during lunch. So, Cammie would finally get to see Zach again. They had two recess periods, but the first was just the first grade classes, while the one after lunch was with both the second and third grade classes.

She had played tag with Preston after she had introduced herself to him and they talked about all sorts of things. Such as, their favorite color, the biggest words they knew how to spell, and lastly Preston told her his favorite stories about Spiderman. He was quieter than Zach, and he didn't act like he was better than her and he listened to what she had to say. It was nice having another friend, but she still missed Zach, none the less.

Due to the sunny weather, lunch was outside today. Cammie had to shield her eyes as she searched the grassy meadow in front of the school for Zach's figure. Preston hadn't said anything about eating lunch together, plus when she was going to go and ask him about it, he was with the small kid with the glasses talking about math problems. She figured he would find someone else besides herself to sit next to.

So, in the mean time she roamed the grassy area until she finally spotted her second grade friend. She scurried over to where he was perched, under a large tree creating a cool shaded area. Zach was seated at the base of the tree with three other second graders surrounding him. She recognized them as the three from the park. She gulped, questioning herself, before she took a deep breath and marched up to her friend.

"Hi Zach."

Zach glanced up and a slow smile grew on his face when he saw his younger friend. He hadn't seen her all day and had missed her energy and usually red face. It was nice to be around kids his own age again, and to see his old friends like Macey and Grant. Yet, it wasn't quite the same.

"Hey Cam, you gonna stand there or sit with us?" He asked in the tone Cammie remembered as sarcasm. The three children giggled at her expense, but Cammie merely smiled and nodded, before she plopped herself down across from Zach. She found his teasing tone and slightly rude behavior almost comforting, something she was used to.

An awkward silence fell over the small group of children. The two second grade girls viewed the younger girl with narrowed eyes. It was embarrassing to have a younger kid sit with them. Macey, younger than the other, Bex, was particularly against having another girl in the group. She didn't want anyone trying to take away her friends. Especially not some little first grade girl. Bex, although weary, was more open to making new friends. Grant, the other boy didn't really care.

"So, uhrm, do you like second grade?" Cammie asked softly, not directing her question to anyone in particular. The four stared at her, before Grant responded.

"Yeah, because it's the first day Mrs. Evans let us have free time and we got to play with the blocks," Grant responded his eyes lighting up, oblivious to the looks the two girls were shooting him.

Cammie grinned at the boy's enthusiastic response. "Lucky! Mrs. Buckingham made us go over spelling and writing. But, we did get to play a math game before lunch," Cammie replied, thinking back over her first day of first grade.

"You have Mrs. Buckingham? I had her last year!" Grant responded, eyes bright with excitement, pleased that he had found something to talk about.

"Was she nice?"

"Oh yeah, she was super fun. Every month she would take us out on a field trip, but only if we got to fifty party points."

"Really? That's awesome!" Cammie chirped grinning at the other boy.

"Yeah well, Mr. Reynolds would let us bring in cupcakes for our birthdays," Zach cut in, his voice slightly snarky. He didn't like the way Grant was talking to Cammie.

"That's cool, did you bring in cupcakes for your birthday last year?" Cammie asked turning to turn her attention to Zach.

"Yeah, they were chocolate and vanilla," He bragged, receiving a smile from Cammie and odd looks from his other friends. They weren't used to him being so... Spiteful. Macey stared hard at Zach, before looking at Cammie again. Was it possible that... Zach _liked_ Cammie? She looked at the two before shivering and dismissing the awful thought. Ew.

"Did you bring in cupcakes for your birthdays?" Cammie asked Macey and Bex timidly.

Macey merely huffed and shot her a glare, while Bex responded after a short pause.

"No, but I got to bring in sugar cookies instead," Bex replied hesitantly.

"I love sugar cookies, especially the ones with frosting on top!" Cammie responded, happy that Bex was joining the conversation.

"The frosted ones are my favorite," Bex said, surprised by their common interests. Macey hated frosted cookies, she thought they were too sweet.

"I'm Bex by the way," Bex spoke out friendlier this time, warming up to Cammie's presence.

"I'm Cammie," Cammie introduced, her voice still a bit shy.

"Oh yeah, I'm Grant and uh that one's Macey," Grant chirped up, pointing at the glowering Macey. Cammie cowered at the look she was receiving and quickly finished her lunch.

"Well it was nice to meet you, but I'm going to go and uhm find Preston. I told him I'd play with him during recess. Bye!" Cammie chimed quietly avoiding Macey's harsh gaze, before scurrying off to find Preston.

She had just lied to them, the first time she had ever lied to Zach. She hadn't promised or spoken to Preston since earlier in the day, but Cammie didn't know how much longer she could stay near Macey. She scared her more than she would ever like to admit. None the less, she scurried off to go find her other friend, sad that she hadn't been able to spend more time with Zach.

Zach watched Cammie leave with an annoyed expression. Macey had quite obviously scared away the younger girl. He didn't know who this 'Preston' was, but he didn't like that Cammie had left _him, _her _best_ _friend _to go play with him. Hadn't he told her earlier that he was enough for her? Why did she need to go play with Preston? He turned to glare at Macey, this was her fault.

"Way to go, Stupid, you scared her off," Zach growled at Macey angrily.

"Hey don't call me stupid! I'm telling!" Macey growled back, standing up folding her small arms across her chest.

"Hey, wait! I didn't mean it! Don't go say anything," Zach shouted, standing up as well.

"Fine, but why does it even matter?"

"What do you mean?" Zach asked, not sure what she was talking about.

"Why did you become friends with a little first grader? She's too young to be with us," Macey complained, willing Zach to come to his senses and see how ridiculous it was for him to be friends with someone below them.

"Didn't I tell you earlier, she's my friend. That means you have to nice to her," Zach said.

"But I don't like her!"

"You don't know her!" Zach bit out, his tone taking on an aggressive, protective edge.

"Ugh, whatever. Let's go, Bex," Macey huffed turning to Bex who was standing beside Grant, silently watching the argument go on. Bex shrugged and sent Zach an apologetic look. Although she was friends with Zach, it was clear where her loyalties lied. The two second graders walked away leaving the two boys alone.

"Girls are dumb," Zach muttered turning to Grant.

"I liked Cammie," Grant spoke out, trying to get a smile out of Zach. Zach merely groaned, he wasn't worried about Grant not liking her. He was worried that he liked her too much, just like this Preston kid, whoever he was.

"Whatever, let's go play soccer."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

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**I'm not really pleased with this chapter. Could've been better. Maybe I'll fix it later. Sorry 'bout that. Please review, it means the world to me and I hope you enjoyed. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I should apologize for the time it took me to update, but I won't, because I don't have as much time as I would like to and well I know you guys have lives outside of Fanfiction so you guys understand. This is kind of a two part chapter, that's why it's so short, although I may go and put it all into one chapter, depending on how things look and work out. It's hard to explain my writing process. More notes at the end of the chapter.**

**Important note, I ****_will _****be posting previews and such things on Twitter, so if you want updates on the story, you know where to find me. ( HolyGoogle)**

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It was opinion to say that Preston Winters was a bad person. It is fact to say that Zachary Goode thought Preston Winters was a dirty little wheezing hog. He hated everything about him. He hated the way he walked, always stumbling over his feet not really sure where to place his feet when he moved. He hated the way he spoke, his words coming out slow and chopped up, like he didn't really know what he wanted to get across. He hated the way he looked, like he had tried so hard to dress himself, but he didn't appear to know the difference from a shirt and pants.

Although, out of all the things he hated about Preston Winters, he hated the way he could make Cammie smile. He had been seeing a lot more of Preston after the first couple weeks of school. Cammie had finally adjusted to sitting with the older second graders, even if Macey did occasionally send an unfriendly glare her way. In fact, her confidence had gone up enough, that she had invited Preston Winters to sit with them.

Zach's small group of friends now had a plus one. An unwanted plus one, in Zach's mind. No one else minded. Bex and Grant were the most easy going of the group, so they welcomed him into their circle easily. Even Macey seemed to approve of his presence. He seemed like a nice kid, fun even.

Zach knew that too, that's why he kept himself at a distance. He didn't _want _to like Preston. If he actually got to know the kid, he might find that he liked him, and he couldn't have that. That would make his hate for him unjustified, not that it was. He wanted to find all the flaws that he had to offer and throw them out on display to Cammie. So maybe she would see, that she didn't need him, and maybe then, she wouldn't want him.

But, he made Cammie smile, in a way that Zach didn't know how to. He didn't understand how he did it, but Cammie seemed to light up at his presence, the happiness obvious in the upturn of her lips.

Of course, he didn't sit with them all the time, it was evident that Preston had other friends, friends his own age, ones he was more comfortable with. That's where the difference between Cammie and Preston was. She didn't have any other friends in her own age group besides Preston, and maybe that's why she was so adamant about him sticking around. As the first weeks of school go by, groups of friends automatically got formed, but Cammie seemed to be the odd one out. As soon as she was seen with older kids, the first graders stayed away, too intimidated by the second graders to try to converse with Cammie. Preston too was uncomfortable by the older kids, but Cammie clung tightly to his presence, and he didn't try to pull away.

Macey noticed too. She didn't want to notice, but her eyes were just a bit sharper than everyone else's. She saw the awkwardness in the way he rocked back and forth on his legs when he sat with them. The slowness in his voice, as if anything he might say would be wrong. Macey noticed, but she didn't want to.

This time though, she didn't say anything, because maybe she didn't want to notice, but she most definitely didn't want to _not _notice. He was far too interesting to be ignored. To some degree she liked having another first grader there, because he wasn't Cammie, and he wasn't so obviously associated with Zach. In fact, as far as she could tell, Zach didn't even like him, which was fine with her. Because maybe if Preston wasn't Zach's to claim, then maybe, just maybe Macey could have him. Just her, someone she could call just hers.

**-Monkey Bars-**

"Hey, we should play tag after we're done eating."

"I can't."

"What? why?"

Cammie looked at with Zach with apologetic, but bright and excited eyes.

"I promised Preston I'd play soccer with him," She responded already packing up her sloppy peanut butter and honey sandwich back into her lunch box.

"Well then why isn't he here now?" Zach asked crossly. It was Thursday and all week Cammie had gone off to play soccer with Preston. If he was playing with her he should at least be present during lunch, it only made sense.

"He said he wanted to sit with Jonas today," Cammie shrugged, but frowned. She had asked him earlier today if he wanted to sit with her, but he had turned her down.

"Well, if he really wanted to play with you, don't you think he'd be here now?" Zach asked agitated. He wasn't really sure who Jonas was, Cammie had mentioned him a couple times, but the name hadn't really made an impression on him.

"Preston has other friends," Cammie replied evenly. She didn't like when Zach talked in that tone of voice, most of the time she couldn't identify the reason why it appeared in the first place.

"Can't you tell Preston you want to play with me today?" He asked pressing on.

Macey viewed the conversation through uninterested eyes. She was curious as to know the reason for the absence of the other first grader, but she didn't want to seem like she actually cared. Bex and Grant were quietly mumbling to each other, pointing at odd shaped clouds in the sky, not really paying attention to the conversation.

"But, I _want_ to play with Preston," Cammie argued, not understanding why Zach wanted to play with her so bad. They had just had a play date yesterday. She waited for another question butt, it seemed her answer was good enough, because he immediately stopped speaking and his jaw snapped shut.

"Okay, fine."

"Okay."

Cammie stared at Zach for a moment longer, confused by the abrupt end of the conversation, but finished packing her stuff up and got up to look for Preston.

"Uh well, I guess I'll see you during math?" Cammie said, but it came out more like a question.

"See you in math," Grant was the one to respond. He sat next to Cammie in math, because she was in the advanced math class, being the second grade math class, and well, Grant wasn't exactly the best with numbers.

"Kay, bye," Cammie waved pulling a small smile before turning and exiting the cafeteria, the feeling of not belonging still faint in the air.

She walked out of the room and Zach was still staring at the spot she had just occupied. His fixated gaze held feelings unknown to him and too intense for him to idenify. He stared with narrowed eyes, because she was _stupid. _Cammie Morgan was plain out stupid, and maybe it was his fault for associating himself with a first grader. But, why would she pick Preston over him. Because that's what had happened, he realized. Cammie hadn't just decided to play with Preston rather than with him, she had picked Preston _over _him.

Zachary Goode didn't often get angry. Sure, he got annoyed and jealous and all those little twitches of agitation, but not a lot of things got him angry.

But, he was angry now. More angry than he could ever remember feeling. So angry that he picked up his brown paper lunch sack that his dad had carefully packed him this morning and threw it as hard as he could into the trash can. So angry that he could feel tears prick at the corner of his eyes. So angry that he wanted to punch somebody. Preferably Preston Winters.

He stomped out of the cafeteria and straight into the boy's bathroom where he shut himself in the stall and just stood there fuming. He clenched his hands together tightly and took deep breaths trying to calm himself. Although, he didn't really feel like being calm, not really.

He hated the way he was feeling. The way his gut was twisting and his vision and breathing were so shaky, he felt like he was going to collapse. The feeling was overwhelming and sudden, and he didn't really know how to handle it.

No one else had followed him into the bathroom. He doubted Grant or Bex had even noticed, and he knew nothing would get Macey to come into the boys bathroom, not even Zach.

He stayed in the bathroom for a long time trying to figure out what to do with himself. So long, that he missed the whistle that called the kids inside. With an hour left of school, one of the assistant teachers of 4th grade had found him and taken him to the office where he claimed he had been feeling sick and hadn't known what to do so he shut himself in the bathroom. It was true to some extent, he did feel sick, and he didn't know what to do about it, but not in the way they were thinking. His father came and picked him up with worried eyes and a creased forehead. The sight alone almost made Zach break down into tears, but he held it together, because even though he didn't know how to handle it. He wouldn't let anyone else see that he couldn't, because that's just how Zach Goode was.

The drive home was silent.

Zach didn't want to feel like that again, ever again. So as his dad's car pulled into the driveway, he started thinking about Preston Winters again. Because, this was _his _fault. _H_e was the reason that he felt like this and he would make sure he got his revenge.

He had been Cammie's number one for the whole summer, and suddenly his position was being threatened. But, he wouldn't let Preston Winters of all people take Cammie away from him. _Especially _not Preston Winters.

* * *

**This is way overdue, but I just want to say thank you to ****_all_**** of my reviewers, because, actually, you are the best people ever. You have no idea. You all are so sweet and wonderful, and I love you all to bits. Please check out my one shot, and find me on Twitter HolyGoogle to bug me about updates.**

**Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I haven't even edited. Sorry for the mistakes, I guess. Just wanted to post something, you know? Um, I'd really like it if you guys checked out my one shot called Colors of the Heart. Just check my profile. Maybe even review. Uhm. Sorry this was late. More notes at the end. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

His plan had been primped, plucked, and polished to perfection. There was no way it was going to fail. As far as the second grader knew, there were no flaws in his plan. It was full proof, absolutely full proof.

After he'd gone home sick, he skipped the next day at school. Partially due to the embarrassment of the situation, and mostly because he didn't really feel up to seeing Preston. Especially if it meant watching Cammie fawn over Preston.

So he took the day off, and he thought, and he thought some more. He thought and thought until he hit his lightbulb moment. Until he finally thought up a plan to get rid of Preston Winters. It wasn't that complicated, even. So simple, he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before, because Preston was a first grader. And Zach. Well, Zach was older than him, and that meant it was his _job_ to teach the lesser how to behave.

Zach had a plan, and it was going to work.

**/**

Zach was giddy on the ride to school, excited and bouncy. Mr. Goode smiled in the review mirror, as he glanced back at his smiling son. The last couple days had been rough for Zach, and it was nice to see him happy again.

They left especially early in the morning on wednesdays because the Goodes carpooled with Cammie. Cammie's parents often time couldn't take her in the morning due to work, so Mr. Goode, who had later office hours was more than happy to drive the little first grader.

They pulled up to her driveway in a matter of minutes and saw little Cammie sitting out on the porch steps waiting for them. She smiled and waved before running up to the car and opening up the car door by pulling the handle out and back just like Zach had taught her. She quickly shut the door and settled her Toy Story backpack at her feet before buckling herself in.

"G'morning Mr. James!" Cammie chirped cheerfully and slightly out off breath.

Mr Goode chuckled, "Good Morning Cammie. How've you been?"

"I'm fantastic, Mom packed me a cookie in my lunch," Cammie bragged thrusting her lunch sack in the air, even though Mr. Goode's eyes were glued to the road.

"That's nice. Did she pack one for me?" He asked playfully smiling briefly in the review mirror.

Cammie crinkled her nose in response. "Nuh-uh! My cookies!" She bit back equally as playful.

Mr. Goode feigned sadness, knowing the first grader was looking. "Well darn, maybe next time."

Cammie giggled and shook her head, before she turned around so she was positioned to face Zach.

"Are you feeling okay? I heard you got sick. Grant says it's cooties, but I told him he was being silly. You told me only girls can get cooties, right?" Cammie didn't wait for a response before she continued on, "You said girls get cooties from touching a boy's hair too much and when they do that all their hair falls out." Cammie recited proudly.

Zach nodded in response, only half listening to what she was saying. He was too focused on his plan to notice much else. He caught the gist of what she was saying.

"I just had a cold, but I'm all better now, so you don't have to worry."

"Well good, I didn't have anyone to play with at lunch recess yesterday," Cammie said frowning.

Zach looked at her surprised. "What about Preston?" He asked trying to sound nonchalant, but the bitterness leaked into his voice, going unnoticed by Cammie.

Cammie looked down. "He uhm, he was busy." Her voice was weak and she didn't sound all too happy about it, but Zach paid no mind to it, because the sooner Preston was gone the better.

"Oh, well today we should play together at lunch. We can play soccer or I could try to teach you how to play tether ball," Zach suggested eager for her response.

Cammie immediately agreed, she had been trying to learn how to play tether ball since she had started school, but Zach was a bit impatient with her when it came to teaching a new game.

"Will Preston be at lunch today?" Zach asked avoiding eye contact. He was trying to sound like it didn't matter, but he wasn't exactly the best actor, but then again, Cammie wasn't really analyzing his behavior very closely if at all.

"Uhm I think so, Jonas left school early to go camping, so I think he'll sit with us," Cammie replied, but she looked uncertain. The more she pressed to be friends with Preston, the more he seemed to shy away. It was disheartening, to say the least, but she wasn't quite ready to call it quits.

Zach smiled. "Great."

**/**

So far, everything was going according to plan.

Lunch came quickly and after some coaxing on Cammie's part, Preston agreed to sit with her during lunch. Zach was all smiles when he saw the two first graders approach their table. Macey noted his unusual excitement, and it was so blatantly obvious that even Bex and Grant noticed a change in Zach's behavior. They didn't say anything, but watched with curious eyes as Zach got up and welcomed the two young ones into the group with a cheery smile.

Cammie easily replied with one of her own, whilst Preston viewed him with uneasy eyes, because this was Zach. And as far as he could tell, Zach didn't like him. He may of been just a first grader, but it's pretty obvious someone doesn't like you when all they do is glare at you during lunch. But, not today. Today, Zach was all cheer and no frown.

"What did you guys do today?" Zach asked smiling so hard Macey thought his face might break.

"Oh! We had a story teller come in during reading and she told us this story about the sun and the moon and it was so amazing and you would've loved it, because it was amazing and..." Cammie babbled on about the sun and the moon and the moon and the sun until Grant interrupted her with a loud burp and they all started laughing. Even Macey, who thought it was disgusting.

Soon enough, they all started packing up their lunches and it was time to go off recess. Zach looked around for a moment like he was searching for a missing item, and even though his movements were exaggerated and absurd, Cammie didn't question his movements. And she didn't question him when he opened his mouth and asked her sweetly if she would go get his jacket, which had somehow disappeared, and bring it to him. Cammie eagerly nodded her head, still having the urge to please the older boy. Besides, Zach was never this nice, it was the least she could do.

The moment Cammie was out of sight, Zach turned to the other first grader and shot him a wicked smirk.

"Hey Preston, wanna go out to field and play soccer?" Zach asked, his voice sickeningly sweet.

Preston's eyes widened as he recognized the immediate change in Zach's voice.

"I uh- I uhm, I..." He looked at the boy with slightly frightened eyes, not able to complete a full sentence.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Without warning, Zach grabbed the smaller boy's hand and tugged him out the door to the playground. Before the door shut behind him, he stopped it with his foot and called out to Macey, "If Cammie asks, I'm in the bathroom." He shot her a sly smirk, before the door shut and he was out of sight.

Macey looked after him bewildered. He had just said he was going to the field. He'd lied. She didn't know why, but obviously Zach was planning something. But, she didn't question it, it was none of her business. Besides, she didn't care what he and Preston did. She didn't care. Not one bit.

**/**

"Where are you taking me?" Preston asked frightened, finally ripping his wrist away from the older boy's tight grip.

They weren't in the boy's bathroom like he told Macey, and they weren't at the field like Zach had told him. They were currently under the play structure. The old one. The one that most kids didn't use anymore, so there wasn't really any adult supervision in the area. Perfect for what Zach had planned.

He turned around and smiled maliciously at the young first grader.

"What're are you, stupid? Can't you see we're under the slide?" He asked Preston in a mocking voice, his voice harsh and cold.

Preston's eyes were the size of saucers. He didn't know what to do. No one had ever spoken to him like this, especially not an older kid like a second grader. He merely gaped at him.

"What? You can't even speak? Are you really _that _stupid?" Zach asked tauntingly.

"It's a wonder why Cammie would be friends with someone like you," He muttered, glaring at him in disgust.

Preston just stared, but he could feel the urge to cry or throw up coming on strong.

"I've been thinking about it, and it doesn't make since as to why you and Cammie even became friends at all," Zach huffed out, all the anger he had harbored rising up again. He strode up real close to Preston so they were directly face to face. He was about an inch or two taller than him, so it made his intense glare all the more intimidating.

"You can't be friends with Cammie anymore. She's my friend and not yours. Don't even talk to her anymore!" Zach spat at the first grader, a dash of insecurity seeping into his voice. But, Preston, the poor boy, was far too scared to notice anything else except the ferociousness in Zach's gaze and tone.

"Okay," Preson squeaked out, while he prayed to God that he wouldn't pee his pants.

"Good." Zach smiled poisonously at Preston before stepping back and stalking away, but just before he was out of Preston's sight, he turned back.

"If you tell anyone _anything_, I'll..." Zach hadn't actually thought of what he might do, "I'll do something really bad." He glared for emphasis. It was a lame threat, but it did the job.

**/**

As soon as Zach was out of sight, Preston collapsed to the ground and burst out into tears. He sobbed so loud, on of the recess attendants heard him and scurried over to ask what was wrong with the poor boy.

He meekly claimed he wasn't feeling well, and was taken to the office. He sniffled quietly as he entered the big building and walked up to the secretary to explain his problem.

She smiled sympathetically at him, "Another sick one? Did you get it from that Zachary Goode kid? He was in here not too long ago."

Preston looked up, eyes wide at the mention of his name. He looked about as if he might pop up from somewhere. He looked back at the secretary who was still giving him a sad little look, not noticing the scared look in his eyes.

He responded with a strangled yes, before Preston broke down into another fit of tears.

* * *

**Yeah, so again, sorry about the late update. I've been doing a lot of traveling and well, school is ending soon. So a lot of end exams and such things. Sorry. Uhm, as usual I want to thank you guys for taking the time for reading my story, because I swear you guys are just amazing when it comes to reviewing. Honestly. You lot are wonderful. Please pester me to update soon, and I hope you liked the chapter. (Again, sorry for all the mistakes, I'll edit later.) xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Not edited. **

**Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I know it's late. I apologize. Um. I should be embarrassed to admit this, but mostly I'm just curious...**

**How do you get a beta? **

**I mean to say how does that work? What does a beta do?**

* * *

And Cammie didn't understand why Preston was being like this. She tried to talk to him during Recess, he didn't even look at her. She tried to speak to him during Reading Workshop, they sat at the same table group and they had been partners for partner reading all year, but he wouldn't even look at her. Cammie ended up having to partner with Liz, which was fine. But, she didn't understand why Preston was being this way.

Of course, she had known for a while now that he was slipping from her grasp. it started when Preston had finally joined her for lunch. But, _this_, this was different. Finally breaking during Lunch, Cammie wanted an explanation.

She didn't tell Zach where she was going, and Zach ate lunch with Grant, Bex, and Macey, and wondered if Cammie was alright.

/

Cammie found Preston inside the cafeteria. Not many students ate inside anymore given the nice weather. But there sat Preston. Hunched over munching on a squishy banana. Cammie marched up to him.

"Preston."

Preston looked up lazily, his eyes wandering the room, looking to see who called for him. When he noticed Cammie marching up to him, he nearly choked on his banana and he could feel his stomach tightening.

He looked away.

Maybe if he pretended she wasn't there she would go away. But she didn't. She came up the young first grader, tapping his shoulder aggressively when he wouldn't look at her.

"Preston!"

He still didn't turn, but now his eyes were staring hard at his hands.

"Preston, look at me!" Cammie bit out desperately.

Finally, he did turn and he had to blink hard several times to stop any tears from falling out. He quickly looked around to see if the green eyed second grader was anywhere in sight. He wasn't, and Preston managed to hold back his tears.

"Preston," Cammie tried again, noticing the fragile state of the boy.

"Yeah?" He croaked out before he cleared his throat and tried again. "Um what?"

Cammie glared.

"Are you ignoring me?" She asked angrily.

"Um," Preston bit out, because what was he going to tell her? He couldn't tell her about what Zach had told him. The mere thought of it made him want to shake.

"Cammie. I don't think I can play with you."

Cammie stared at him, her anger turning to confusion.

"Today? Why? Are you going to play with Jonas? I thought Jonas was absent today..." Cammie trailed off when she saw Preston shake his head.

"I don't want to play with you anymore. Ever. Not today or ever." Preston choked out, hoping, praying, begging, that Cammie wouldn't ask why.

"Why not?" Cammie asked taking a step back. His answer hurt, and she was really too young to understand how to deal with painful emotions.

Preston gulped. What would he tell her. What _could _he tell her.

"I don't like you." Preston exclaimed loudly, hoping that Cammie wouldn't see through his plain and straight lie. He just wanted to go home to his Mommy, and Cammie wouldn't just leave him alone and he didn't know what else he could do.

"...You don't...Like me?" Cammie asked out softly, feeling her heart clench up tightly.

She could take easy teasing from Zach. She was sensitive, but she wasn't completely fragile. But she didn't understand why Preston was being so rude to her. But he didn't like her, so maybe that was explanation enough.

"Oh."

Cammie gulped. And Preston just nodded, clenching his banana so tightly, he could feel it turning to mush within the peel. It didn't really matter, he wasn't really that hungry anyways.

"You should go away," Preston whispered.

Cammie bit the inside of her lip and could feel her hands shaking, because she didn't want to leave. Preston was her only friend her own age. If she didn't have him, she didn't have anyone. But Preston didn't _like_ her, and she couldn't really do anything about that. Or maybe she could. But Cammie didn't push boundaries like that, she didn't know how.

So she muttered a quick "fine" at Preston and walked away stiffly wondering if Zach would be able to tell if something was wrong.

But he didn't.

But, he did notice Preston's absence and he smiled, pleased with himself.

And he didn't notice Cammie's sad eyes or frown.

/

"We should play Power Rangers," Zach exclaimed excitedly.

Cammie shrugged glumly. It was friday and the sleepover had been planned two weeks earlier. Cammie thought about not going, but this was Zach, and she couldn't not show up to a sleepover with him. She couldn't do that.

Zach sighed, annoyed with Cammie's lack of excitement.

"Come on, I'll let you be the red ranger," He persuaded waiting for the excitement to light up in Cammie's eyes.

Cammie looked up in mild surprise. Zach was always the red ranger.

"I don't care," Cammie muttered.

Zach huffed.

"Ugh, Cammie, you're so _boring_!" Zach puffed out throwing his hands in the air dramatically.

Cammie looked up alarmed.

"Do you hate me?" She asked quickly, eyes wide with surprise.

Zach crinkled his nose.

"What? Of course not."

"You said I was boring!"

"I didn't say I hate you."

"You said I was boring. It's the same thing!" Cammie exclaimed loudly, eyes wild and nostrils flaring.

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

"Yes it is! You hate me!" Cammie screamed, just as the door opened and Mr. Goode burst in to see what all the commotion was about. Cammie stared at Mr. Goode with watery eyes and a sniffly nose, before she turned and ran. And locked herself into their bathroom.

Zach stared after her, bewildered and angry. Cammie was being stupid. Girls are stupid.

"Zach, what happened?" Mr. Goode asked sternly.

Zach glared at his father.

"I didn't do anything!" He shouted.

"I never said you did," Mr. Goode soothed, squatting down to Zach's height, "I just want to know what happened," Mr. Goode said calmly.

Zach huffed angrily, but he was getting more and more upset. Did Cammie really think he hated her.

"We were going to play Power Rangers, and Cammie just freaked out, she said that I hate her."

Mr. Goode stared hard at his son.

"Is that all that happened?" He questioned, his tone hard.

Zach looked down, ashamed.

"I called her boring and now Cammie thinks I hate her," Zach mumbled out, chewing on his lip hard before throwing himself into his father's arms for a hug.

Mr. Goode pulled Zach close and rubbed his back soothingly, the girl locked in the bathroom still on his mind.

"I d-d-don't hate her," Zach whimpered into his shoulder.

"I know, Squirt. We'll figure this out, okay?" Mr. Good comforted Zach, and after feeling him nod against his shoulder, Mr. Goode pulled back led a sniffling Zach to the bathroom door.

"Cammie?" Mr. Goode knocked on the door softly.

"G-go away!" Cammie sobbed.

Mr. Goode sighed.

"Cammie, Zach didn't mean what he said to you, he wants to apologize," Mr. Goode tried to explain soothingly.

"No. He h-hates m-m-m-me," Cammie stuttered through thick tears that the two males couldn't see.

"I don't hate you Cammie! I'm sorry! You're not boring, I didn't m-mean it," Zach shouted from the other side of the door, whimpering.

It was silent from Cammie's end.

"You don't hate me?"

"No! Your my best friend!" Zach cried.

The two Goodes heard a click, before the door opened slowly, revealing a tear-faced Cammie Morgan.

Cammie ran out and threw herself on to Zach, and the two held each other, crying. Mr. Goode nearly teared up at the sight himself. And he crouched down to their level and pulled both of them into a tight hug, holding them both.

/

Cammie left early from the sleepover. Mr. Goode had called her parents after the fight, deciding it might be better for Cammie to sort out her feelings with her own family. He dropped off Cammie at her house and Zach was silent on the way home, and he wondered what was going through his young brain.

/

They were on the swings.

Talking to each other had been like walking on egg shells. They were both embarrassed and Cammie couldn't shake the sadness that hung over and Zach didn't really know what to do about sadness or really anything else.

"I don't hate you," Zach shot out impulsively.

They weren't really swinging. Just kind of swaying backwards and forwards, and it was just them. All the other kids were surrounding John. He was in Zach's class and had brought bubbles to class for show and tell and his teacher let him bring them out for Lunch Recess. The kids about blew up from excitement.

"Do you think other people hate me?" Cammie asked quietly.

Zach shook his head.

"I don't think anyone hates you," He responded honestly.

"I think Preston does," Cammie mumbled out softly.

"I think he hates me."

Zach stared at Cammie.

Oh.

The grip on his swing links tightened and he gulped back a rude response and felt anger building in his stomach.

"He said he hates you?" Zach managed to choke out.

"No. But he said he didn't wanna be my friend, because he doesn't like me... Do you think he hates me?" Cammie stared at Zach with big, innocent, deer eyes and for a moment Zach felt like the worst person in the world.

Preston was an idiot, and Zach wanted him to just disappear. Preston didn't talk to Cammie anymore, as far as he could tell. And he didn't make contact with Zach, even when Zach tried to glare at him. Obviously, the poor boy was still scared of him.

He was out of Cammie's life. So why wouldn't Cammie just let him go.

Zach stared at Cammie and tried not to feel guilty, and it wasn't hard. Compassion didn't come easily to him, and his eyes hardened.

"I think," He started, his voice taking on an edge, "I think that it doesn't matter what Preston thinks."

"It does!" Cammie cried.

"Why?" Zach questioned annoyed.

"He's my friend."

"Not anymore!" He snapped, before he could understand what he was saying.

Cammie's eyes widened.

"What?"

Zach swallowed and tried to think of something to say to her.

"Uhm. You shouldn't be his friend. He's rude, and he's mean."

"But..." Cammie trailed off and Zach gave her a hard stare, challenging her.

Cammie didn't finish her sentence.

"_I'm _your friend," Zach spit out bitterly. Because why wasn't that enough.

"Yeah I know..." And she trailed off, not brave enough to say anymore. She shrugged and tried not to be so sad about everything.

Zach nodded, pleased that things were looking up. (For him at least, Cammie would be fine.)

"We're having a play date after school, right?" Zach questioned, letting the conversation change courses. He ignored Cammie's little sigh before she responded.

"Yeah."

"Okay great, I got some new legos at Target on Sunday and we should build a castle..." Zach went on and Cammie nodded and found it easier to smile after a couple minutes. By the time the whistle blew, it didn't hurt anymore to laugh.

Preston was still faint on her mind, but Zach easily kept her attention.

And Zach was more than pleased with himself.

* * *

**So, you guys are amazing. I feel the need to say that. Mostly because it's true. Your comments are the best. **

**I wrote a one shot between chapter seven and eight. **

**It's called Under The Willow Tree.**

**You should check it out.**

**Feedback is really appreciated, so please do. Comment, that is, and give me feedback.**

* * *

**This is kind of a side note. **

**But.**

**For all those who were wondering. A time skip will be happening soon. **

**Not quite high school. Not quite junior high (Middle School?).**

**Just thought I'd let you know.**

**In case you were curious.**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's been a while. I didn't expect to be this busy during the summer, but oh well. I know this is a short chapter, but this stupid thing called writer's block hit me and I was in this really bad mood where all I could think was dang my stories suck and someone is going to flame me really bad. No one has, so far at least. But like, I can do constructive criticism, but like don't just flat out tell me you hate me. Weird fear, but I can't help it. Sorry for how short it it. Um. Definitely a time skip for the next chapter. I'm thinking fifth and sixth grade, if you guys wanted to know. Please review, you guys seriously are the best when it comes to reviewing. Seriously, the best ever. Thank you.**

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It wasn't that Macey hated Cammie. She didn't hate her, really, she didn't. In fact, Macey had adapted quite well to the younger girl's presence, and she well. It wasn't that she _enjoyed_ having her around during lunch, it was just that, she didn't mind it, not really.

And sure, Macey could come off as a bit rude, but she felt she had the right to. She didn't like sharing. Not at all. And then Cammie came into her life, into her group of friends like she belonged. To Macey, that really wasn't fair, because she shouldn't belong, because she was younger, and she wasn't like Macey or Bex, and she wasn't in second grade.

Macey _really_ didn't like to share. She didn't want to share Bex, Grant, or Zach. Not with anyone else. She couldn't and wouldn't ever tell anyone that, and the reason was obvious enough. The more she showed she cared, the more they would stay away. She learned that from her parents. She learned lots of things from her parents, when they were around, that is.

But, as hard she tried to glare at her and pretend she didn't like the first grader's sparkly red shoes (like the ones from The Wizard of Oz) it was hard, especially when they shined extra bright during recess when the sun came out.

And although it took time, (a lot of time) Macey was starting to realize that Cammie wasn't going to take anyone away from her. And yeah. She was closer to Zach then Macey would ever be, but it was different. She would probably punch Zach if he treated her the way he treated Cammie. She was beginning to understand, to really _understand_ that having Cammie in her circle of friend could be a good thing.

Besides, it would be a lie to say that Macey didn't think the younger girl was cute, or sweet, or fun, even. Because sometimes, on thursdays mostly, she would come to school with pigtails, or little braids that Macey wished she could have done on her own hair. But, she couldn't braid her own hair, and Macey's mom wasn't exactly around often. She had thought about asking Cammie to braid hers, but the thought of asking the younger girl for help was something that made her cheeks red, and her eyes widen in defense.

So she brushed her hair out extra shiny on thursdays so maybe Cammie would want to braid it, but she never asked. Maybe she should just ask.

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It was lunch recess when Macey found Cammie hiding behind one of the big boulders near the end of the field. The little first grader was crouched behind it with a furrowed brow and a small frown. Macey didn't feel bothered by it. She didn't care why she was crouched by the boulder, and she really didn't want to know why. Except she did.

So she sighed, and walked over to Cammie, because she was curious, and it was thursday.

"What are you doing?"

Cammie looked up surprised, as it wasn't often that Macey approached her during recess. Or normal.

Cammie stood up a little bit from her crouch, almost the same height as the large rock. She dusted the dirt from her knees.

"Oh. Well, I'm playing hide and go seek with Zach?" She said it like a question.

Macey kind of felt dumb. Of course she was playing hide and go seek, she had been hiding behind a rock. Now she felt kind of awkward, because she had started a conversation that she felt obligated to finish.

"Oh, ah. Where's Zach?"

Cammie frowned again and the two looked around the playground until they found Zach's figure in line at the tetherball area.

"He's over there, I guess," Cammie mumbled, looking both troubled and embarrassed.

"I thought you said you were playing tether ball," Macey challenged. She couldn't help the attitude that seemed to seep into her tone. But she didn't like being lied to.

"Yeah, me too. Guess not," Cammie replied softly, and Macey didn't miss the flicker of uncertainty and hurt in Cammie's eyes.

"I've been hiding for like five minutes, I guess he forgot," Cammie sighed.

"That's rude." Macey was kind of surprised. Zach, who wouldn't stop bugging her about letting the little girl sit with them was ignoring her?

Cammie looked up surprised, because it almost sounded like Macey was on Cammie's side.

"No. It's okay." Cammie shook her head and glanced at Zach again. He was still in line.

Macey glared in Zach's direction. "No, it's not okay, if he was really your friend, he wouldn't be an idiot and leave you here without telling you."

Cammie's eyes widened. Macey had said the I word. She would get grounded if she ever said that. She felt something like admiration and awe wind its way into her gut, Macey was so much more brave than Cammie would ever be.

"No he isn't," Cammie denied quickly. Defending Zach was a second nature to her. She didn't want to get Macey mad at her, but she couldn't let her call Zach the I word.

Macey turned to face Cammie head on. She folded her arms across her chest and looked at Cammie through clouded eyes.

"Yes he is. Why aren't you mad at him? I would be mad at him."

Cammie blushed and looked down.

"I think he's mad at me," Cammie said quietly and Macey kind of felt bad for the younger girl.

"Why?" She was blunt, but she uncrossed her arms and tried to sound kind. It was weird and unfamiliar, but Cammie responded well to it, so Macey kept the kindness in her voice.

"Um, we had a play date yesterday, and we were playing power rangers," Macey wanted to roll her eyes, power rangers were stupid, "And I told Zach I had a crush on the red ranger, and he um. He got really mad, and he told me we couldn't play power rangers anymore. And when we watched Spongebob, he didn't sit on the couch with me."

Macey listened quietly and it all became clear to her.

"Hmmm."

Cammie looked up, "What?"

"Would you want to marry him?"

Cammie's eyes widened in surprise and she felt herself blushing.

"What! marry him? Zach"

Macey sighed, little kids were so immature.

"No," Macey rolled her eyes, "The red ranger, now answer the question."

Cammie crinkled her nose as she thought about the question.

"Um, no," She mused thoughtfully, "I don't think so. I mean, he has to save all those people around the world and I would get in the way. So, I think even though I have a crush on him," Cammie's voice got really quiet at the word crush and she blushed even harder, "I think it's better if he marries someone else. Like the pink ranger!" Cammie finished, proud of her reasoning.

"Well then, problem solved!" Macey announced, grinning. She was kind of proud of herself, she had just helped the little girl.

Cammie didn't get it. "What? How? Zach is still mad at me."

"It's easy. Zach probably thought you wanted to marry the red ranger and then he was mad because he thought you wouldn't want to play with him anymore if you were married. But, if you aren't going to marry him, then you have tell Zach that he has nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I get it." Now it made sense.

Cammie beamed at the older girl, she kind of wished she could be that smart when she was her age.

"Thanks Macey!" And Cammie kind of leant forward to give the older girl a hug, but she stopped when she saw the uncomfortable look in her eye.

"Uhm, yeah. Whatever, Zach should have known you aren't going to get married. Boys are kind of stupid," Macey explained with a sigh.

Zach wasn't stupid, Cammie knew that well enough, but she nodded anyways to appease the older girl.

"Yeah, so there's only like ten minutes of recess left."

"Yeah," Cammie agreed.

Macey shifted uncomfortably, not really sure what to do. This was the longest she had ever spent with the first grader. And she was embarrassed to admit that she kind of liked it, she wouldn't admit it. But, that didn't mean she was ready to leave Cammie alone.

"Do you wanna... like, braid my hair?" Macey asked nervously, and she kind of hated the way her voice sounded shy. Macey was a lot of things, but she was not shy.

Cammie's eyes lit up, she loved braiding hair.

"Yes! Yes! You have really pretty hair," Cammie shrieked giddily.

Macey let out something like a sigh of relief before she smiled back.

"Can I do a fishtail braid?" Cammie asked a couple minutes later as she stood on the boulder behind Macey, running her small hands through her dark hair.

"Mhm," Macey hummed in response.

And now she was smiling, even though Cammie couldn't see it.

So yeah, Macey didn't hate her.

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**Also, on a side note. Would you guys please read my one shots, one is sorta recent and not many people have reviewed, and just. Would you please look at it and give me some feedback? Please? It's called ****_I joined Chess Club For You. _****Read it and you'll get the title. Please review, sorry I am so pushy, but like I really really appreciate all the feedback I get. **

**Thank you guys so much, and I hope you like the chapter. (Tell me what you think?)**


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